Drake slammed for advocating Tory Lanez's release following conviction in Megan Thee Stallion shooting

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Drake has recently sparked a social media backlash after he took to his social media handle to call for the release of fellow rapper Tory Lanez.

For context, in August of last year Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of shooting hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion.

Why was Tory Lanez arrested?

Lanez was found guilty of shooting hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion. The shooting incident occurred after a 2020 party in the Hollywood Hills. He was charged with felony assault in October 2020, shortly after releasing his new album at that time. 

In a 2022 trial in Los Angeles, a jury heard that Megan Thee Stallion was shot after she and Tory argued in his SUV after leaving a party at the house of Kylie Jenner. Vogue reported in August 2023 that Lanez had been sentenced to 10 years for shooting Stallion.

During her testimony, Megan stated that the altercation escalated when they started criticizing each other's music careers. Megan, also known as Megan Pete, testified that Lanez fired a handgun toward the back of her feet.

As a result, she underwent surgery to extract bullet fragments from her feet and alleged that Tory offered her $1 million to remain silent about the incident, citing his probationary status.

Drake receives backlash from netizens

In the early hours of February 26, Drake posted an Instagram Story in support of Tory Lanez, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

He captioned the story, “3 you.” The phrase is widely understood as rhyming slang for “free you.” Lanez even released a song, (For Me Ft. Drake) in 2021, which featured Drake. 

However, all of Drake's support didn't go well with netizens. A user wrote on X, "Why is Drake posting Free Tory Lanez if Tory Lanez is guilty?? Why is he risking his image and brand by supporting a rapper that was [sic] convicted for shooting a lady? Unless he knows something we don’t know. This is very strange to." [sic]

Another user said, "The biggest loser ever displays loser behavior. Shocking." The next user said, "Drake supporting a woman beater disgusting." [sic] 

While a user opined saying, "Drake this is so weird… you’re supposed to believe the woman. Imagine going against Meg, when she had to deal with all that trauma. Not only does she make better music than both of you, she’s not a liar. Protect black women." 

A user wrote, "I swear I don’t [sic] be lying to yall. Drake is a very specific and very blatant misogynist and his 'Free Tory Lanez' post is only further proof of where he is and may have always been."